Asked once what he had to shoot to win a particular tournament, US golfer Roger Maltbie replied: “The rest of the field.”
It’s been a bit like that following Australian golf for the past 20 years. Even when Greg Norman held the world No. 1 position, you could never comfortably watch him play a tournament.
We still get twitchy thinking about the 1996 US Masters, when the Great White Shark took a six-shot lead into the final day and lost by five. It’s deemed one of the biggest sporting chokes of all time, right up there with the All Blacks any time they play a World Cup away from home.
But last year, Adam Scott broke the US Masters hoodoo, pulling on the coveted green jacket which had never before been near an Aussie back – ironic considering it’s half the colour combination of our national sporting clobber.
Coming into this week’s Masters, the talk was all about the Australian invasion of world golf, with Jason Day, John Senden, Steven Bowditch and Matt Jones all racking up recent PGA wins. Finally, we could experience a golf tournament without watching it through our fingertips.
Or so we thought.
We came to Augusta with seven little Australians. In keeping with Ethel Turner’s classic book of the same name, we had to lose a favourite character along the way – in this case two, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones, who didn’t make the cut.
No biggie. At the midway point, Scotty was still in the mix in third place, as was John Senden in second. Scott had fought back hard after a dodgy front-nine on day two. You could see his status growing, see him morphing into the world’s top golfer – as he was destined to become if he finished the tournament in third place or better.
To cap it off, Oliver Goss was the only amateur to make the cut, becoming the first Aussie in 74 years to win the Masters low amateur trophy. Not a bad way to celebrate your 20th birthday.
There was much for an Aussie spectator to look forward to until day three happened. Without going into too much detail, it wiped us off the leaderboard. And we never got back on it as Americans Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth were left to duke it out for the winner’s cheque and a questionable wardrobe addition.
Watching it all on telly, a recuperating Tiger Woods could breathe easy. If Adam Scott, Jason Day and Henrik Stenson weren’t firing, his grip on the world No. 1 position would survive another week.
It’s the third tournament in recent weeks where Scott’s had a chance to get to the top of world golf. I haven’t given up hope, not by a long shot. But we’ll be watching through our fingertips for a little while yet.
GD66
Guest
Good call, Checker. If indeed they are going to outlaw those dodgy long putters, now would be as good a time as any for Scott to get started on sorting out his work on the greens : not to wait until cutoff day, then cry foul. Thankfully the long sticks are already few and far between : they should never have been permitted in the first place. Sam Torrance had plenty to do with their introduction, and I always considered him to be a cheat in disguise when he used to wear a pencil for scoring behind his ear - with an eraser on the end ! What could that be for, if not to alter your score...:)
Checker
Guest
Not enough praise has been given to Steven Bowditch who was the most consistent of the Australians with rounds of 74-72-74-72. I also think it is now time for Adam Scott to move back to the conventional putter with a full time putting coach. Unfortunatley for Jason Day, the way he plays he will always gives shots back to the course. Let's hope that Oliver Goss can kick on with his golf. To do this he needs to turn pro as soon as possible. At the moment he is a long way from another 20 year old in Jordan Spieth.
kazblah
Roar Guru
Yes, I saw that. Strange that it took him almost 20 years to go public. That 1996 Masters was agony to watch, more so to play I'm sure. And yes, he was one of the game's greats. 331 weeks at No. 1 - only Tiger has done better.
Man of...
Guest
Unsure of its legitimacy, however the shark recently revealed he hurt his back on the morning of his most famous capitulation. If it did indeed happen, what a bitter pill it has been for him to swallow after all these years of ridicule. Armchair critics love to pot him, but he was genuinely really unlucky at times and he did win a couple British opens.